Han Zheng Rebukes US on Iran, Cuba at UN — SkimNews
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- Han Zheng told the UN General Assembly on September 26, 2026 that sovereignty of Gulf countries should be respected and urged "the relevant country" — without naming the U.S. — to immediately stop threatening Cuba and lift its blockade and sanctions.
- China's Iran pushback came despite U.S. Ambassador confirming on September 25 that Trump warned Xi against supporting Iran and received assurances China would not do so, following reports Beijing supplied Iran with shoulder-fired air-defense missile launchers and helped Tehran evade oil sanctions.
- Cuba's electrical grid suffered a total collapse earlier in September, plunging millions into darkness — a crisis worsened by a U.S.-imposed oil blockade that began in January 2026.
- Han's remarks stood in sharp contrast to the Trump-Xi summit earlier that week, which featured military flyovers and a lavish White House state dinner.
- Han framed China as a defender of developing nations and multilateral consultation, declaring: "all countries, big or small, are equal members of the international community."
Why it matters: The UN speech exposes a gap between the optics of the Trump-Xi summit and Beijing's actual diplomatic posture on two flashpoints Trump personally pressed Xi on. With the U.S. ambassador confirming Trump received assurances on Iran, Han's public rebuke suggests those assurances are paper-thin — complicating Trump's summit narrative while the Iran war grinds on and Cuba's grid collapse deepens under the U.S. oil blockade.
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